In Brief
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — A New York prison worker accused of smuggling hacksaw blades in frozen hamburger meat to two killers who later broke out and spent more than two weeks on the run will face charges in court.
Joyce Mitchell, a tailor shop instructor at Clinton Correctional Facility, was jailed shortly after the elaborately staged June 6 escape of Richard Matt and David Sweat. Matt was shot and killed by searchers June 26, about 30 miles west of the northern New York prison. Sweat was captured near the Canadian border two days later and sent to another prison.
Mitchell is accused of providing hacksaw blades, chisels, a punch tool and a screwdriver to Matt. Authorities say she became close to the pair, agreed to be their getaway driver and even discussed killing her husband. But she backed out at the last moment, forcing Matt and Sweat flee on foot after they emerged from a manhole near the maximum-security prison.
Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie said the 51-year-old northern New York resident would be arraigned this morning on charges of first-degree promoting prison contraband and fourth-degree criminal facilitating. Wylie said she is expected to waive her right to a grand jury hearing.
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — A body believed to be a missing 8-year-old girl was found Monday inside a dumpster at a complex in Northern California where she was last seen riding her scooter and a 15-year-old boy has been detained in the case, police said.Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel said the body found by a detective Monday at a Santa Cruz artist community and housing center likely belongs to Madyson Middleton.“We haven't positively identified her yet but believe she is probably Madyson Middleton,” Vogel said.He said a 15-year-old boy who lives in the complex was arrested at around the same time the body was found and is being questioned.Madyson Middleton vanished Sunday afternoon at Tannery Arts Center, where she lives with her mother.
HEMPSTEAD, Texas — An initial toxicology report for Sandra Bland, who died in a Texas jail cell three days after her arrest during a traffic stop, raises the possibility that she may have used marijuana while in custody, two experts said.The amount of THC, one of the active components of marijuana, in Bland's system was 18 micrograms per liter, according to the report released Monday. That's more than three times the legal limit for drivers in Colorado and Washington, states that permit the recreational use of marijuana.Bland, a black 28-year-old from suburban Chicago, was found dead in the Waller County jail on July 13. Authorities have said Bland hanged herself with a garbage bag, a finding that her family disputes.
